When I was home recently, Matt gave me a copy of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow. I devoured it over the weekend.
If you haven't already heard the story, it goes like this: Carnegie Mellon has a lecture series of long standing called "The Last Lecture," in which it invites faculty members to give a lecture on any topic that has meaning to them. "If you could give one more lecture before you die," the rhetorical prompt asks, "what would it be?"
Except for Dr. Randy Pausch, computer science professor and father of three, it's not so rhetorical. He has been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, and has less than one year to live.
The resulting lecture is a work of such joy and optimism that it has created an internet movement. "Inspirational" is a word we've quit using here in the 21st century, but it's the right word for Dr. Pausch's final work.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book, or watch the lecture itself. It may just make your day.
1 comments:
I actually saw a special on ABC with Diane Sawyer interviewing this professor recently. What a tear jerker! Especially thinking about Pedro's Dad dying when Pedro was 10 and Andres was only 4. Situations like that are so sad. I'm glad that this professor is leaving such an inspiring legacy for his kids. Hopefully it will help them in their hard times.
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